Although rituals have been analysed across several perspectives, existing discussions
offer limited interpretations of ritual behaviour. Rituals are commonly framed as
conservative, static and homogenous processes that reinforce social order. This definition is
inadequate as it ignores the dynamic nature of rituals and a perspective that acknowledges
this aspect of ritual remains undeveloped. To address this theoretical gap, this ethnographic
study uses participant observation and interviews to explore how university, judo athletes use
ritual. As dynamic social processes that adapt to context and human agency, I argue judo
athletes use and interpret rituals in diverse, contested ways and that this process has
embodied effects their personal and social states. Reflecting this point, rituals are used to
express hegemonic and marginalised discourses and to shape identities within ritual
constituencies. While these findings unsettle previous ritual conceptualisations, the complete
extent to which social and individual factors affect rituals remains unclear and further
research is required.